Freightways invests $2.7m in rubbish solution
Helps bridge building supplies shortage
Freightways has invested $2.7 million in Saveboard, an innovative solution that upcycles packaging waste into construction board. The cash has enabled Saveboard to open a plant in Te Rapa, Hamilton, which became fully operational at the end of last year and is now converting up to 4000 tonnes of waste a year into about 200,000 desperately needed construction boards.
The investment is not only commercial but the right thing to do, says Freightways chief executive Mark Troughear. It converts materials like Tetra Pak and fast-food cartons, which were previously not recyclable, into building board that performs similarly to plywood, oriented strand board and particleboard and can be used indoors and out.
With transport and construction combined accounting for nearly 30 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in New Zealand, Freightways recognised the business as an opportunity to meet needs at both ends.
The listed company sees Saveboard as a means to achieving a number of goals. It is able to offer
its clients a way to deal with waste within their own businesses, maximise efficiency on its existing waste collection services and accelerate its goal of a 50 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2035.
Spearheaded by Paul Charteris, Saveboard uses patented Smart Technik technology to convert waste
that previously could not be recycled in New Zealand including fibre and poly-coated packaging such as coffee cups, carton board and soft plastic waste into world-class products.
“We have phenomenal interest in our first run, and we need less than 1 per cent of the market to reach our initial capacity,” said Charteris.
Freightways also encouraged Saveboard to add a wash/dry line to its production facility, a crucial element missing from many recycling facilities resulting in recyclable – but contaminated – materials heading to landfill. The wash/dry line is now operational after receiving funding from Callaghan Innovation.
“Investing in Saveboard made sense for Freightways as the perfect complement to our current collection and destruction service offering,
creating a circular economy for those collections from right now – not by 2025, or by 2050,” said Troughear.
Recycling isn’t new to the Freightways portfolio – The Information Management Group (TIMG) manages document destruction and large scale paper recycling, but this investment is a key step towards its goal of having zero landfill products.
“Our investment strategy hinges on increasing efficiencies and creating a circular economy; we’re actively seeking out solutions that work with complementary waste streams, finding a way to reuse product in a meaningful way – at a scale that creates real impact, ” said Troughear.
More information about Saveboard is available at www.saveboard.nz